A ride in the park
by Foxfan1992
Summary: Two young boys - a raccoon and a fox - are riding their bikes together in a Zootopia park. The two friends come across Nicholas Wilde and try to befriend him - but he no longer trusts anyone. However as the younger boy gets his bike stuck in the mud, Nicholas helps him out; thus giving Nicholas a chance to make a couple of new friends that he can trust.
Green broad leaves danced and rustled in a late-afternoon summer breeze, in a large park in the town of Wedgewood, a suburb of Zootopia. A slightly chubby five-year old raccoon wearing a blue t-shirt and orange flame shorts rode on a bright red bike up the dirt path, his plastic black training wheels making a quiet rattle-like noise as he trundled along. He was accompanied by a nine-year old fox kit, riding a big blue bike and wearing a red-and-black shirt and blue sweatpants.
"Come on Timothy! You can ride faster than that."  
"I'm being careful, the path is still muddy from the rain earlier, Friendly!"  
"You'll get stuck riding that slow through a mud patch." chuckled the fox.  
His point was soon proven to be true, Timothy rode into a patch of mud and his bike stalled.  
"Oh no!" Timothy cried, pumping his pedals as hard as he could, but the back wheel of his bike just kept slipping; his training wheels offering little but stability as they sat in the mud.  
"Told you so. Come on, out you come." said Friendly, leaving his bike on the path and pushing Timothy and his bike free.

A few minutes later, Timothy noticed another fox kit sitting all by himself on a park bench. He turned his handlebar along the path towards him. Friendly followed.  
"Hi! I'm Timothy." the raccoon introduced himself.  
"...and I'm Friendly". said the fox kit accompanying the raccoon.  
The slightly younger kit just sighed and wiped his muzzle with his paw.  
"I don't wanna play with anyone. Not anymore."  
With that he walked sadly away, leaving Timothy and Friendly perplexed.  
"I think something's wrong..." said Friendly. "Hey, wait up!"  
"Just leave me alone." the younger kit replied, dejectedly.  
"Hey, come on now. What's the matter?"  
"I've had a... a terrible..." The fox kit sobbed and wiped a tear from his cheek.  
"We can be friends!" squeaked Timothy.  
The young cub shook his head. "I... I think I'm better off by myself."  
"Well... if that's what you really want. Let us know if you change your mind. Come on Timothy." said Friendly, turning the pedals on his bike and riding off along the path.  
The younger fox kit sat on the bench and watched wistfully as Friendly rode away.  
Timothy turned the pedals on his bike to follow Friendly, but it didn't move. The back wheels of Timothy's bike were sitting in a patch of mud and the drive-wheel just slipped and spun uselessly as the raccoon pumped his pedals.  
"Friendly, help!" cried Timothy. "I'm stuck!"  
Friendly was already too far away to hear his friend's cry for help, however the other fox kit heard him. He watched as the raccoon struggled with his bike in the mud and couldn't help a small, sympathetic smile. He jumped from the bench and made his way down to offer the raccoon some help.  
Timothy kept turning his pedals, but the drive-wheel of his bike just kept slipping and spinning. The fox kit stood next to Timothy.  
"Training wheels sunk in the mud, huh?" The kit chuckled. "Want some help?"  
Timothy nodded, looking at the back wheel and the kit and the back wheel again.  
"What did you say your name was?"  
"Timothy."  
"I'm Nicholas. Hold on, and don't pedal or you'll make me all muddy."  
Nicholas put both his handpaws on the seat of the raccoon's bike and pushed. Soon, the little red bike was back on the path again. Nicholas had noticed something else though.  
"Tim, are you wearing a diaper?"  
Timothy gasped and tried to pull his shorts up over his diaper, but they wouldn't go high enough to conceal it.  
"I'm not gonna make fun of you! I was just asking."  
"I... erm..." struggled Timothy.  
"It's okay..." Nicholas put his paw reassuringly on the raccoon's arm.  
"I... I need it at night. I always wake up wet. I'm going to be sleeping over with my friend tonight. I hope one day I won't need diapers anymore."  
Nicholas smiled and briefly remembered his own dream of becoming a cub scout, but quickly shook it from his head.  
Just then Friendly arrived, astride his big blue bike.  
"I thought you were right behind me, Timothy. I got all the way to the other end of the park before I realized you weren't."  
Nicholas turned around and began to walk away.  
"Nick! Come back, please?" Timothy squeaked.  
Nicholas turned his head towards the two boys and hesitated. Finally he turned around and sat on the bench next to Timothy.

After introducing himself to Friendly, Nicholas couldn't find anything else to really talk about. He tried hard, but he didn't want to remember the painful events of a few days ago that had shattered the only dream he had ever had.  
"What's made you so upset Nick? It sometimes helps to talk about it." suggested Friendly.  
Nicholas closed his eyes tightly as the memory came flooding back. He had been so happy, so willing to fulfill his dream of being a junior-ranger cub scout. But then came the other cubs who had taken him downstairs to swear the Cubs' oath of honor... the initiation.

"Okay, now raise your right paw and deliver the oath."  
"I - Nicholas Wilde - promise to be brave, loyal, helpful, and trustworthy!"  
"Even though... you're a fox?"  
"What?" ... "No! NO! What did I do wrong, you guys?! Help! Please, tell me what I did wrong! What did I do?!" "NO!"  
"If you thought we would ever trust a fox without a muzzle, you're even dumber than you look!"  
"Aww, is he gonna cry?"

"I can't... I just can't." Nicholas cried, burying his head in his paws.  
"Tell us, please?" said Timothy, putting his paw reassuringly on Nicholas's arm.  
Amid much sobbing, shallow-breathing and clenching his paws, Nicholas related his story to his new friends. Both of them gasped as he finished off his sad tale.  
"That's horrible!" Timothy squeaked.  
Nicholas nodded. "That's why I don't trust anyone anymore."  
"You can trust us." said Friendly. "Both of us."  
"You both seem really nice. Can I... um... can I be your friend too?"  
"Of course you can, Nick."  
"Yeah! Maybe Friendly's Mom will let you come sleep over as well!" said Timothy.  
"Maybe, if you'd really like to." nodded Friendly.  
"Perhaps..." Nicholas replied, though he wasn't quite so sure if he would accept their offer. "Thank you guys."

\- The End - 


End file.
